


I Never Knew

by Joanne1123



Series: How I Know to Love [1]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Guardians Mash Up, Gamora is protective, Hurt/Comfort, I have no idea how to write Drax yet, Jötunn Loki, Loki Does What He Wants, Loki is sneaky, M/M, Original male character is not original, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rating May Change, Rocket gets nicer, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-23
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-14 18:57:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3421889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joanne1123/pseuds/Joanne1123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time the messenger broke into Stark Tower it was like a nightmare. After the second time, Natasha lay bloody and face down on the living room floor. The shouts of her friends had ceased, even the snarls of the hulk had faded. She craned her neck to look and saw the hammer, the shield and the hollow shell of an iron man suit lying on the floor. The only person left was the Jötunn warrior standing at her heels.<br/>“I sent them to distant parts of the galaxy,” he explained. “You’re safe with me now.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Gamora had been right – although there were prisoners here this place wasn’t a dungeon. If Thanos wanted someone out of the way he only had to say the word. Imprisonment wasn’t as efficient as annihilation.

No, this wasn’t a dungeon, it was a storage facility, housing the collective remnants of Thanos’ work. On the rare occasion he stopped to look at the path of destruction left behind him there were orphaned children and broken warriors. If he saw promise in them he stole them away.

Gamora’s story had filled in the gaps. He collected and groomed the victims of his pursuits. Gamora and Nebula were among the few whom he had invested a great deal - and who had survived the rigorous conditioning. Since Ronan’s attack on Xandar a minority of these individuals had presented themselves as Thanos’ new legion of dark warriors – of which Nebula had been just the beginning.

Hidden in shadows, Gamora crouched low to the ground and Peter dropped down beside her. A guard passed them but they remained unseen.

“We ought to burn this place to the ground,” Rocket growled quietly from behind him.  
Peter shushed him.

“Or…” he added, watching the guard fade away into the gloom. “Snatch them away one by one. At least half of this lot is wanted on one murder charge or another. We could pick up a nice sum for-”

Quill elbowed him and pointed subtly at Gamora. It was hard enough for her to be here without crude comments. Rocket’s shoulder slumped and he looked down at the readings on the device strapped to his wrist. “Second on the left,” he told them.

Gamora slipped round the corner and Quill followed. The entrance to the vault was a heavy circular door eroded with rust. Gamora and Peter stood opposite it, shining their torchlights onto the electronic lock at its centre.

“Pull that down,” Rocket said.

Peter obeyed, grabbing the lever at the top of the door and pulling it down to the right, the metal locks ground against each other. They waited as Gamora surveyed the darkness around them and Rocket’s ears twitched. When they were sure the noise had gone unheard, Rocket shouldered his gun and scrutinised the keypad below the lever. He pulled out some gear from his pack and rigged it to the lock.

“That better not be a bomb.”

Rocket smiled sadistically at him. “Wouldn’t that have been more fun…” He pushed a button. Something in the lock clicked and the door dropped an inch down and rolled sideways, very loudly. Gamora sprang inside, snatching up one of Peter’s handguns out of its holster as she passed him. They followed her in and Peter pulled the door closed. “I think they might have heard that. Let’s grab this thing and get out of here.”

What he did next was out of habit. Or rather, what he didn’t do next was out of habit. Gamora was a dependable companion and nowadays robbery was part of their routine, she knew her role and he knew his. If she was going to check the room for enemies, then she would do exactly that. If she fired the gun, he would know they weren’t safe.

But as he checked the door was firmly sealed her silence relaxed him. From the door his gaze followed a string of blue light radiating from a force field in the corner of the room. Inside was the chalice, and beyond that, the window. He went over, ignoring the purpose of their mission for a moment and stooped down to look through the dusty glass to make sure the Milano was still hidden under cover of the mountains. “Get ready Drax, we almost have it,” he said into his mouthpiece.

“I am ready,” his friend’s voice echoed.

“Come on then Rockey, I wanna get home.”

“Quill.”

Peter glanced round, squinting through the blue light. He stepped round the suspended chalice to find out what they were staring at. His heart sank.

_Why couldn’t a mission ever go as planned?_

Gamora had lowered her gun and Rocket peered round at him grimly. Peter stole himself and edged closer. A huge contraption stood against the opposite wall. Within it was a person. His arms were strapped down at his sides and his head had been forced backwards by the equipment overhanging him. The alien’s eyes were open and he was looking at them, but the closer Peter got the more he was certain the alien wasn’t lucid. He was completely still, held rigid by several metal guards that wound around his body. He was bipedal but Peter couldn’t tell what species he was. Apart from his eyes the man’s face was almost entirely obscured by a metal mask. The man’s gaze drifted around the room, as if he couldn’t see them.

Peter looked at Gamora and followed her gaze to a vial of purple liquid hanging in an IV bag above the alien’s head.

Rocket had been slowly backing away and he finally turned and started working on the force field surrounding the chalice. There wasn’t much to say. Peter looked at Gamora, knowing she had seen something like this before. Had she been held in a contraption like this once? Was this Thanos’ second stage of conditioning? When his friend did finally turn to look at him she looked ruined, her eyes too hard and full of shame. Peter moved closer and touched her wrist. Gamora opened her mouth to speak but she couldn’t seem to find the words. But it wasn’t necessary. Peter knew.

They weren't leaving this one behind.

-

Loki knew of pain. If he listened only to the outside he could bide his time. If he listened to his body he wanted to die. The darkest nights burned and a child with white skin and long dark hair wouldn't stop staring at him. His legs were bitten, bruised and he thought sometimes he must be hallucinating. He knew it must be true when he saw a talking rodent. Then he was being lifted. He complained, the metal hooks in his body were supposed to be there. He mustn’t take them out.

Oh, he did. Loki reeled. Am I headless?

His mouth tasted of salt and blood but he couldn’t open it. Before he lost consciousness he saw the pale-skinned child.


	2. 2

_one year later_

 

As the spaceship hit the water the very last lifepod launched. It spun into the air, gaining altitude as the vessel below made the most awful sound, its hull fracturing against the sea. Rogers pressed his hands to his ears and watched the pod go up and up until it vanished in the starry sky. He was flung forward as the ship dove head first into the sea. It groaned and heaved and screamed at him until he threw open the cabin door and saw the alien ocean for the first time up close. An ocean yes, but most certainly not water.

If he wasn’t so scared he would have stopped to stare. For just a second the azure-black landscape was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

The ship rocked sideways as it submerged and Rogers gripped the handrail, finding himself being lifted upwards until he could see the vessel all around and below him sinking. It was rolling towards some equivalent of a glacier, a frozen black form in the glittering ocean.

As he reached the peak the ship fell silent. For a moment everything was quiet and Steve looked around. He knew he should have been thinking about Peggy or Bucky or this new life and new friends, but all he knew at that moment was, Tony was right. If they somehow discovered how he died – on this alien world above azure ocean and beneath starry skies, Tony would understand. And for just a moment that was comforting.

Seeing another spaceship in the distance was a blur. It was so unlikely. There was no way anyone would be able to see him and not a single pod had been left with the ability to call for help. As he felt an icy wind hit his face Steve shouted out as loud as he could and waved an arm. The vessel dipped sideways and careened towards him. He locked his arms around the handrail and clamped his hands over his ears. The ship sped past him, shockingly close. But he saw it clearly. A figure fell from the ship, followed by another almost instantly after. The first landed hard into the hull below him. The second landed further down on the gangway, his body hit the deck and flew upwards, his hands fastening quickly around the nearest hold and the momentum pulling him down hard on his sternum.  Once he stilled Steve looked for the first man below, but he was gone.

The ship lurched and groaned again and a hand grabbed Steve’s leg. He spun round. A masked man crouched beside him, holding onto him as the ship’s right wing disappeared into darkness below them. A spray of black liquid broke from the ocean below. Steve locked his arm on the rail and took the man’s hand, hauling him closer.

They rode the sinking together for a few minutes. The stranger’s grip was strong and his body steady as the ship plunged deeper into the water. Its left wing rose higher until they clung to the side of the ship. Steve let the stranger’s hand go and they both held the railings until she righted herself in the water. The Captain looked down the gangway and saw the second stranger also clinging on. He was unmasked and when Steve saw his face he knew he wasn’t human. The difference was subtle and too hard to pinpoint from a distance. He felt the ship level out, his feet finally found purchase again on the deck and he looked to his side at the masked man, who was staring at him. Judging by the visor-like glean of his mask, Steve guessed the man could see him perfectly clearly. The stranger’s headed titled sideways as he looked past Steve at the other alien.

“Who are you?” the Captain breathed. The masked man ignored him and Steve followed his gaze to see the alien advancing on them with a sword. The Captain couldn’t believe it. Their vessel had passed overhead and was gone from sight. They were on a sinking ship. Nobody was getting out of here alive – irrespective of killing each other.

The alien with the sword looked between them and focused on Rogers. “Who are _you_?” he snarled striding towards them on the unsteady platform. His skin was stretched, pinned back against his naked scalp and inhumanly thick. The alien raised a gun at him, his elbow-length leather gloved barbed with metal spikes. “Who are you?” he demanded.

Rogers held his ground, intentionally blocking the masked man from getting round him and engaging the other guy in a fight. “Captain Steve Rogers,” he answered.

The alien stopped mid-stride. His eyes widened and he grunted, reaching with his other hand to cock his gun. Shieldless, Steve balked. Hands gripped his back and threw him sideways. His head hit the deck as light burst around them. He saw sparks out of the corner of his eye but he couldn’t hear anything. He looked up to see the alien had dropped sword and gun and was staggering backwards, his body full of holes. There was blood all over the deck. He fell on his back, his chest heaving for only a few more seconds until he fell still. The masked man was gone.

Steve pulled himself up, hearing muted sounds of the sea beneath him. Searing light flooded his vision and he raised his hands. Something hit him from behind, not hard, but he spun to find a rope dangling. It swiped him again and the wind swung it away. He staggered up over the hull after it.

The moment he had hold of it he could hear the grind of the engine above him. He was hauled upwards through icy winds until huge hands hauled him into warmth. The whir of the wind and the engine deafened him until the doors were sealed. Steve rocked on his feet and the same huge hands took his shoulders. Steve backed away.

“Let him have some room you oaf."

The huge man before Steve took a begrudging step back and Steve let his feet carry him backwards until he was against a wall, ears burning hot and his hands numb. He looked at his surroundings.

He was in a cargo hold.

His breath came out in hard, cold huffs and he looked at the two creatures opposite him. One could have been human but he doubted it. The man was enormous, larger even than Thor. His body was a canvas of red tattoos and he was shirtless. Steve glanced sideways at the racoon beside him. The raccoon wearing some kind of tracksuit. He shivered and took another deep breath.

“What happened to that man?” he spluttered. “The one wearing the mask.”

The raccoon’s expression darkened. “He fell,” he replied matter-of-factly. “Saving you.”

Steve watched the creature disappear through the nearest doorway. He thought that was what happened. He must have pushed Steve out of the way and fired, but not before the other alien had.

The huge man remained, watching him.

“Drax,”a woman’s voice crackled through the room. “Can the alien stand?”

The man went to the door and held a button on a control panel down. “He is standing.”

“Bring him up here.”

Drax released the button. “We won’t hurt you unless you try to hurt us. I will pull your limbs off if that is the case. I am Drax.”

Steve frowned, nodding. “Steve Rogers,” he breathed.

Drax nodded resolutely and led him through the ship. As they approached the bridge they heard raised voices. A striking, green-skinned woman appeared and her expression was enough to make Steve hesitate. Drax pressed a firm hand into his back to move him on.

“I’m going as fast as I can.” A voice came from a surprisingly human-looking man sitting at a control station.

“Which isn’t enough,” the woman snapped. “This was your idiotic idea.”

“I don’t remember anybody else having any. It wasn’t like I pushed him out the…oh my God.” The man’s gaze had fallen on Steve and he stared, open-mouthed at him. “Oh my God.”

“What?” the woman asked.

He looked at her. “N-nothing.”

The woman turned impatiently and flicked a switch on one of the consoles. “I’m opening the portside.”

“Gamora you won’t see anything out there,” he argued.

“Can I help in any way?” Steve asked as the woman stalked past him.

“You’re here so we can keep an eye on you. So sit down and don’t get in the way.”

Steve did as he was told, finding a bench out of the way to remain. Over the next few, very long, hours he watched half the crew grow increasingly distraught and the other half more silent.

The masked man – Hal – was a member of their crew. He and Peter the pilot had planned for him to throw himself on the sinking vessel below to lure away an assassin who had stowed away on the ship. Hal planned to kill him and return to the ship in the same way they’d pulled Steve off the wreckage. They didn’t even know Steve was there. But when Hal had pushed him out of the way of the gun, he’d been shot and fell overboard.

As far the crew of the sinking ship were concerned, before they’d boarded their lifepods they’d told Steve no species on the galaxy could survive ten minutes in that ocean let alone the four hours they’d been searching.

Gamora, the green-skinned woman, had reappeared a couple of times to redirect their flight path, looking tired and windswept. Her eyes were red and swollen but Steve wasn’t sure if it was from hanging outside a spaceship over icy waters for hours or from crying. Apparently someone else called Groot was doing the starboard side.

The raccoon, called Rocket, worked with Peter. He seemed to be in control of the censor calibrations but he rarely spoke. Drax kept one eye on Steve and the other looking out of one of the small windows. Steve couldn’t stop thinking of Bucky and this man who’d saved him, thrown into icy depths. He too stared out of the window, looking for anything in the gloom.

The moment someone saw Hal it was like a bucket of cold water was thrown onto them and the crew was animated. Steve held back. Rocket pounced through the doorway and shouted out instructions to Peter, who steered the ship low until Groot could pick up Hal. Steve couldn’t work out how it was done. The moment the loud whirr of the wind outside was sealed away with the door shutting, the ship lurched upwards and back into the open sky.

Steve stood, waiting and listening. The sight of Groot carrying Hal into the room froze him to the spot. Groot was…a tree. And Hal was alive. He was actually awake, but barely. His body shook violently and he was drenched in something colder than icy water. Groot lowered him to the floor as Gamora pulled a rug around his shoulders. Hal still wore his mask and they made no attempt to remove it. But his hands… Steve risked a step closer. Hal’s hands were deep blue and knitted with beautiful symbols that seem to be part of his skin.

“What the hell is wrong with his hands?” Peter cried out.

Gamora pressed her hands either side of Hal’s face. “Hal, nod your head if you’re okay.”

The man nodded forcibly but his body shook hard. Steve stared in growing concern.

“What is it?”

He blinked, realising Peter was asking him.

“You should take his mask off. He’s not…he’s not making any sounds. He’s not even coughing.”

The others seemed to ignore him and Peter nodded gravely. “The mask doesn’t come off.”


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is surrounded by oddities, but he needs to get home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! Hope you're enjoying so far :). I wasn't sure how to end this chapter, hopefully it's okay.
> 
> This is just to forewarn you that although I am an avid Marvel move watcher, I use artistic licence when it comes to the back story of some characters. I hope it will all make sense but there may be some errors or made up details here and there that are definitely not based on the comics.
> 
> J x

“I know who you are.”

Steve looked up.

“You’re Captain America, right?”

Steve regarded him. “You’re human…”

Peter smiled and shrugged off his red jacket. “Peter Quill. I was born on Terra – that’s Earth. I used to collect your comic books. It was just an urban legend that you survived. How in the world did you end up on that ship all the way out here? I mean don’t get me wrong, _this_ is brilliant. I might have to ask you to sign my ship.”

Steve managed a smile as Drax appeared in the doorway. “Gamora has organised a meeting.”

“No Drax, I think what you mean to say is, Gamora has asked _me_ to organise a meeting.”

“If that were true I would have said it.”

Peter quirked an eyebrow at Steve and they followed the big man into a small lounge. Steve paused in the doorway, taking in the peculiar concoction of aliens before him. Groot sat on a small low sofa, his broad shoulders and long frame slouched forwards unassumingly, his eyes black and bright as he saw Steve come in. It was clear already that the creature only spoke three words and his companion, the rodent, translated. Said rodent sat a few feet away on a stool. Hal – apparently recovered – was curled into an armchair under a blanket beside him. The others stood around the small room, forming a loose circle. Steve slipped into place by Peter.

“Can I begin the meeting by letting everyone of non-Earth origin know that we have a celebrity on board?” Peter announced. “Captain Stephen Rogers. Captain, the woman in green is Gamora, not to be trifled with. The sturdy block of verbatim you see there is Drax the Destroyer. To your right is the aforementioned Hal and the security blanket he uses to strangle his enemies, you won’t recognised either since right now at least they’re both white in complexion. Rocket is our…”

The raccoon was shooting him a dirty look and Peter grinned ruefully. “Mechanic. And-”

“ _I_ am Groot.”

Steve nodded “It is a pleasure to meet you all.”

Gamora leaned back against the wall of the rusty ship. “Perhaps, Captain, you could explain who _you_ are and what you were doing on that vessel?”

Steve glanced at Hal who sat with his knees up in front of him. His hands were indeed human-like in colour now. “I’m a soldier...” Steve began, trying not to stare at the man’s peculiar mask. Almost mechanical. “Of the planet Earth… I appreciate the introduction, but are you…soldiers?”

“I didn’t tell him who were are!” Peter said with a grin.

Gamora frowned. “Well you know Hal so-”

“Err, actually I don’t.”

She fell silent and they all looked at the masked man. Hal’s eyes were visible above the rim of his mask and he just shrugged and looked down into his lap. Steve noticed then something the size of one of Tony’s iPads but with rusty, rudimentary buttons on it was resting in Hal’s hands. It was wired up to a small black box strapped to his chest.

“Are you kidding me?” Rocket cried. “You risked this whole operation to save a _stranger_?”

Hal looked at him and pushed a few buttons on the device. A computer-like voice crackled against his chest. “I killed the assassin, didn’t I?”

Rocket stood on his stool and growled, hot temper in his voice. “You are _supposed_ to be a guardian of the galaxy! What good are you if you’re going to throw your life away for just one alien!”

“I know _of_ Captain Rogers. He has and will save thousands if not millions to come. Was that not worth the sacrifice?”

Steve wanted to speak, to show his gratitude, but Rocket snarled at them, furious. “Not when you are capable of saving entire planets. This oaf is from Terra,” he spat, dropping himself back into his seat. “He protects that one world alone.”

“You’re not helping, Rocket,” Gamora sighed.

“It’s fine, Gamora,” Hal replied through his device. “He’s just angry with me because he thought I was dead. And far too proud to admit he would have missed me.”

There was no emotion in the voice of the computer but Hal had reached over and scratched Rocket once around the ear. The raccoon made a show of flinching and laid his ears back. Hal didn’t seem perturbed. He leaned over, locked a finger around the rung of the stool and tugged his friend closer. Rocket braced himself in his seat and maintained a sour look on his face. Hal relented, patted him on the back and leaned back into his own seat. He pushed buttons on his device.

“You’re acting like you don’t trust me enough to make that decision for myself. But I heard you before my comms went out. You gave the order to have Rogers pulled aboard.”

Rocket crossed his small arms and shrugged. “I knew you weren’t a _complete_ moron.”

Hal nodded and he breathed a laugh through his mask. “Captain,” he typed, “this bizarre crew you see before you are the Guardians of the Galaxy. They protect all the planets against the very same threats that you yourself have defended Earth from.”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “What sort of threats?”

“The extra-terrestrial kind.”

“The tesseract.”

Hal nodded. “That is just one of many infinity stones and they are not sources of evil, but there are individuals who would like to wield their power at the cost of peace and the lives of billions. Your world has been preyed upon by some of these people, such as Malekith of Svartalfheim.”

“And Loki of Asgard.”

Hal nodded. “Loki was a pawn of a greater power that resides in the galaxy, Thanos.”

“Thanos has armies,” Gamora explained, “which we have been destroying. But he is also building a legion of soldiers, each capable of bringing entire civilisations to their knees. Collectively, they are Thanos’ greatest weapon. To destroy him, each of these soldiers must be killed. The assassin that you saw was one of his protégées.”

“He stowed away while we were loading the cargo hold,” Drax said.

“It wasn’t anyone’s fault,” Peter said.

“I should have smelt the freak,” Rocket growled. Steve’s eyes were caught but the tree creature, who began growing a long stem from one of his wooden fingers. Steve watched it writhe through the air.

“It doesn’t matter now,” Peter replied. “It’s been dealt with.”

Groot’s stem met with the raccoon’s shoulder and scratched him gently. “I am _Groot_.”

Rocket smiled at his friend.

“Perhaps now you know we’re on the same side Captain,” Peter said, “you could tell us how you ended up so far from Terra. Captain Steve Rogers is a superbeing,” he told the others. “Although I didn’t know you could travel intergalactically-”

“Well I-”

“-There’s nobody else like him on the planet. Probably nobody else like him in the galaxy.”

“Come on then Captain,” Gamora said. “Why were you on that ship?”

Steve bit his lip and nodded. “Well I’ll be honest and say I’m not sure.” He was actually wondering where to begin, how much he should tell them and whether these people were even expecting much detail. He thought of Natasha and knew suddenly there were some things he couldn’t he couldn’t tell anyone until he had spoken to her again. Especially since the story was hers, not his.

“It’s difficult to explain. I don’t really know how it happened. I was at home with my friends and then I heard glass breaking and…and Thor grabbed me.”

“Thor? Thor the Prince of Asgard?” Gamora asked.

“Yes. He said he had to take me to Asgard. It happened so quickly. There was all this light and it felt like we were falling…upwards. Then I’m not sure, but if _felt_ like something intercepted us. Something pushed me out of his hold and everything went black and I was floating. And then that ship picked me up…from…somewhere.”

“Your story is not clear,” Drax replied.

“That ship had sustained a hell of a lot of damage,” Rocket mused.

“I was on there for a day before something came at us. They kept me below decks so I never saw what it was. They were forced to launch the lifeboats, I mean, life pods, but they were damaged in the attack. So I did the launch manually for them, it was easy.”

“I _am_ Groot.”

“How very kind of you,” Rocket mused at Steve.

“There were women and children on board.”

Gamora came forward and sat down beside Groot. “We didn’t see a third ship in the vicinity. Do you think the creature that sabotaged your journey with Thor was the same to attack the ship?”

“I don’t know.”

“If it is we need to keep moving,” Peter said. “My girl is already getting us out of the system in case any more of Thanos’ soldiers are about.”

“Or we could throw him out,” Drax offered, motioning to Steve.

“What?” No,” Peter snapped. “Don’t even think about it.”

“I didn’t think there was anything powerful enough to disturb the Bifröst as long as Heimdall presided over it,” Gamora whispered.

Steve remembered the name and had assumed the same when Thor first mentioned him.

“What could have done that?” she asked Hal.

He shrugged in response and typed. “It would have taken a lot of power, but any Asgardian with knowledge of the Bifröst could do it. Or me. But I was cooking stir fry at the time.”

“Are you Asgardian?” Steve asked.

“Do I look like an Asgardian to you?” the voice of the machine responded. Hal’s eyes were friendly but Steve wasn’t sure if he’d offended him, or how even to answer.

“The skin of Asgardian’s don’t go blue in the cold,” Drax observed.

“ _Yeah_ ,” Rocket mused, shooting Hal a dark grin. “You ain’t getting away with that one you know.”

Hal typed. “Suffice to say Captain, we must get you home.”

Steve considered them. “Can we contact Thor? Or Heimdall?”

Gamora’s eyes shifted to Hal’s and he shook his head. “No. But we can take you home, can’t we Quill?”

Peter blinked and looked at Steve sideways thoughtfully. “Uh…No reason why not. Terra is very far from here, but we can get you back.”

Steve could see the man was, for whatever reason, uncertain. “I would be very grateful. I need to get home as quickly as possible.”

Peter smiled thinly and nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“Umm…not that I _mind_ giving the pretty boy a lift across the galaxy,” Rocket mused sardonically. “But…were we intending on, say, charging him for it?”

Peter huffed. “Rocket-”

“I am _Groot_.”

“Oh please!” Rocket snapped, slapping one of the tree’s vines away. “Being kind never got nobody nowhere. And I don’t see us earning money for food this way.”

“You can’t be so selfish,” Peter argued. “The people of Terra need him.”

“Be honest Quill! How many times are we gonna have to refill for this journey? Four? Five times! Talk to him Gamora, you ain’t liking this plan either I can tell.”

“Wait a minute,” Steve said, attempting to sway them before an argument ensued. “What if I _could_ make it worth your while?”

Peter shook his head. “Captain, you don’t have to.”

“No, I mean it. I think our money is probably different to yours, but we can give you plenty of food, and there is one other thing I might be able to help you with.”

Rocket titled his head in contemplation. “Which is?”

Steve looked over at Hal. “I know someone who could remove that mask for you.”

The moment he said the words he knew he’d overstepped his mark. Rocket’s eyes widened but he fell silent. Steve waited but nobody responded. He’d been under the impression when they’d pulled Hal from the ocean that his mask was a burden. If Hal could neither remove the mask nor speak through his mouth he couldn’t have been able to eat either. To Steve it seemed akin to an archaic torture device. But the silence extended and Hal’s fingers didn’t move on the device. “I’m sorry,” Steve said. “I thought it was a burden to you,” he explained. “I didn’t mean to offend.”

“Do you think we haven’t tried to take the damn thing off ourselves?” Rocket snarled lowly.

Steve frowned and raised his hands. “I’m sorry, of course I’m sure you’ve done everything you can.” He looked at Hal. “I just know a really good engineer who might be able to help.”

“I am Groot.”

Hal’s eyes flickered towards his friends. “What does he say?”

Rocket sighed and peered at the tree creature. “He said you’ve suffered long enough.”

Hal dropped his gaze to the device in his lap.

“How long?” Steve asked them.

“A year, at least,” Peter replied. “But he had it when we met him.”

Steve had seen enough oddities in his lifetime for the question of sustenance to be low on his list of priorities to ask. He approach Hal and the alien peered up at him over the brim of the mask.

“You saved my life,” Steve reminded him. “I really think my friend can help you. If not, then between him and Thor, they will find a way.”

Hal looked over at Gamora and then back at Steve. Some old and idle resentment stirred inside of him when he saw the Captain’s hopeful eyes. He wondered if time had made him a rusty deceiver, but instead of scrutinising himself, he just shrugged gently and typed. “Okay, it’s worth a try. Thank you."


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gamora tries to work out if Hal really intended to save the Captain, while Natasha wakes up in Stark Tower after the attack.

Chapter 4

 

Gamora found Hal sitting with his legs hanging over the gangway, watching Peter and Rogers chart their journey from the cockpit. She picked up the comms device lying at his side and crouched down next to him.

“Did you know the black sea wasn’t going to kill you?”

Hal couldn’t hear any disapproval in her tone but he guessed she wasn’t happy and was probably questioning his motives. He shrugged his shoulders, keeping his eyes on the two humans. A second later he reached out and took her hand.

“You could have drowned, or been shot or crushed, but you risked your life anyway to save him,” she whispered. “And I wouldn’t have questioned that because I know you didn’t plan it, and I know what it’s like when you have to make a quick decision and instinct takes over. So I don’t need you to explain why you did it. But I do need some guarantee that you don’t regret it.” Hal looked at her and she frowned, trying to gauge his expression from just his eyes. “Are you sure you should have saved him? Because since he came on board you’ve done nothing but watch him. I can see plain as day that you don’t trust him.”

Hal looked genuinely confused then and he let go of her hand to take his comms device. He turned the highly convenient volume dial that Rocket had incorporated into it down and started typing. “How can you tell?” the voice crackled. “For all you know I could be plotting how to get him into bed.”

Gamora’s eyes widened. Her jaw went slack and after a beat she laughed. Properly laughed. The look so suited her and Hal smiled under his mask and lifted his eyebrows at her playfully.

“I would bet a thousand units that is _not_ what you were thinking,” she chuckled. “I know you and I know those eyes.”

She looked down at the humans again, still smiling. Peter and Rogers did seem to be getting along well, but then they were both human, more or less. Although Hal had sidestepped her concerns, she was curious why he’d chosen a coquettish remark to do so. He could have just said he was being sensibly cautious, but as she glanced at him his eyes were still playful and devious.

Hal had done so well in some aspects of his recovery that sometimes it was easy for the others to forget what he’d been through. Gamora always remembered. She didn’t regard him as a victim so much as a co-survivor and she could see the bouts of pain in him when they hit. In the last couple of months those had become few and far between. He’d bonded beautifully with the team in a way she would have never been able to just after her conditioning. However, this was the first time Hal had admitted he might have found someone attractive. Even if it was just a little it was a progression in itself. It had taken Gamora many years before she’d been able to imagine herself partaking in any romantic liaison.

As far as Rogers was concerned, she was sure Hal wasn’t the sort of person to openly ogle someone he thought was attractive, so there had to be something else. Even if it was just taking standard precautions while a guest was on board, she’d really rather he just told her.

 “You know I have your back,” she whispered. Hal watched her. “If you want me to take him out-” She looked down as Hal typed.

“You should trust him more than you trust me.”

“Peter?”

“Rogers.”

“I’ve known you near on a year. I know who you really are. The _Captain_ may be famous, but you are my friend.”

“I knew his engineer might be the only person in the galaxy who could get the mask off.”

She frowned. “You’ve heard of him too?”

“They call him the Iron Man.”

“I never heard of him.”

“He’s an ally of Thor’s.”

“Why didn’t you say something? We could have gone to Terra before this.”

“I didn’t think they would help me.”

He let her figure that one out. If she asked him to explain he would have been surprised, but he would have told her everything. He looked at her steadily, willing her to ask him. _Let me tell you how I know that man._

“Well, now we know they will,” she replied and watched Hal breathe out a slow sigh.

 

* * *

 

 

When Natasha woke she wondered for a moment if it had all been a dream, but the hot pain thrumming through her hand cast away the notion away. She had been moved to the sofa, surrounded by cushions, a blanket and a cup of red liquid had been placed on the table beside her. As she looked around her eyes hit on the man standing in the corner of the room sheathed in green and blue armour. She instinctually glowered at him and he smiled.

“Good morning,” he quipped, with far too much enthusiasm.

Natasha grimaced as she tried to sit up. The room was still covered with broken glass and upturned furniture and her whole body ached. “What day is it?”

“Don’t know. Jarvis, what day is it?”

“Thursday, Sir.”

Natasha blinked, forgetting that she’d slept for more than a day and stared at the man. Why was Jarvis answering him? “Who the _hell_ are you?” she growled.

He took a deep breath. “Here we go again…” He approached her, grabbing a chair from the floor and taking a seat opposite her. “We have to do this without names for now sweet heart.”

“You’re Jötunn.”

He grinned and straightened in his seat. “Sweets…do I _look_ Jötunn? You haven’t seen one yet, have you? They’re giant, blue creatures with fairly unpleasant breath. Not sure why. But as you can see, aside from these pretty things I look as human as you.” He was referring to the barely noticeable patterns that grazed the skin over his hands and face. He pushed back his black curly hair and considered her carefully. “ _Thor_ is a bit stupid. If he hadn’t bolted the second I arrived he would realised that I’m not a blue beast and am not here to kill you.” As he spoke Natasha’s eyes hit upon something over his shoulder and she froze. The man’s smile faded as her eyes met his with venom.

“Take that off.”

He forced a smile. “Sweet heart, you may not know me yet, but I do need at least a little wooing before I take my clothes off for anyone.” He winked at her and Natasha wanted to strangle him.

“Take off the shield now!” she demanded.

He raised his hands in surrender. “Steve wouldn’t mind me using it! And if those things come back I need every weapon available to protect you.”

“You don’t know Steve,” she snapped.

“I will,” he replied quickly before he fell silent.

Natasha looked away and pushed the blanket off herself. “So you’re from the future too, huh?”

He smiled. “Yes.”

“I don’t believe you,” she retorted and the man looked strangely wounded by her tone. There was something oddly childlike about him. “If you know me at all you’ll know I would never believe anything without proof.”

He sunk low in his seat and looked away. “I thought you might…I don’t know. Know _me_ somehow. We’re really good friends.”

Natasha wanted to punch something. All she knew was the last few days had just made no sense. “You’re not the messenger,” she pointed out.

“No…she thought you would believe our story if she was the first to visit. And do you remember she left me here, to take care of you?”

“The other Avengers were all here, we protect each other. Why did you send them away?”

He stood up. “The timing is _really_ important. All you need to know right now is that everyone is where they need to be. By the time they all get back here, I will be able to brief you on the next part of the mission.”

“Who the hell do you think you are? We don’t take orders from anyone but Steve.”

“The orders _have_ come from Steve, but the future Steve…not your Steve. I had to get all your friends off-world for their own protection. They’ll be okay, I haven’t sent any of them to dangerous locations. As for Thor, he did try to act before I could use my magic, but there are very few people in the galaxy who can best _my_ abilities. I placed a barrier on all of you to stop Heimdall taking you all to Asgard. He did manage to pick up Thor and Steve, but I intercepted. We needed Steve elsewhere, so I…dislodged him from Thor. He’ll be fine.”

“I don’t care how apt your magic is. I want to know who you are and I want proof that you come from the future with orders from Steve.”

He deflated a little under her gaze and nodded humbly. “You can call me Hal. I err...can tell you everything I know about you and the others-”

“Believing you are from the future and believing you are a friend of mine are two different things. Any of our secrets could come to light in the future and you could use those to trick us.”

Hal nodded thoughtfully. “Or…well…you can see my armour. Designed by Stark and Asgardians. I can control Jarvis because he knows me. Well, I mean, your Stark took Jarvis with him, so I integrated our new version onto the system when I arrived. Normally he travels in this,” he said, holding up his wrist which had a device strapped to it.

“You could have stolen the tech and the armour,” she replied. “And just because your AI sounds like Jarvis doesn’t mean it is him.”

Hal bit his lip and nodded. “Oh. Yes, yes I guess that’s true. But I also brought you hot kool aid,” he added hopefully, as if one its own that was proof of his valour. “It’s your favourite.” Natasha rolled her eyes and leaned back on the sofa.

Hal shifted on his feet and if the circumstances had been different she might have found it endearing. She flinched when he sat down next to her, his hip brushing hers. “You once told me that I am one person in two parts,” he said, wringing his hands nervously. “You said you never learnt to trust me until you’d seen them both.”

Natasha stared at him, feeling knots curl up in her stomach. Up close she could see properly the patterns that laced his skin and the flecks of greens, golds, browns and blues in his hued eyes.

“But I would like to respectfully disagree,” he said slowly. “For the only part of me that has ever mattered, ever made any sense, ever had any purpose or logic in this world, is that part that loves you. I don’t mind that you don’t recognise me. Regardless of circumstance I love you in the past, the present and the future, until the end of time. You said to Loki once that love is for children. Perhaps you’re right.” He slipped away from her and removed Steve’s shield from his back. “I’ll answer any questions you have to prove to you I am on your side.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! The first part was very hard to write but hopefully it was okay. 
> 
> Comments exceptionally welcome.
> 
> J x


	5. Does he think we're going to drink wine now?

“You’re not talking to me?” Hal nodded and continued pacing. “I suppose that’s called for. I have rather shown up without invitation. Well I’ll make a start… I know you were visited very recently, that is, you and the other Avengers, by an Asgardian who wanted to hire you? Is that right?” He waited. “Well…I’ll assume that’s why they came here. I’m afraid I don’t really know the details. My history is not the same as your present or your future. You see, some time after Loki was defeated by your team in New York, he escaped prison and impersonated his adoptive father, the King of Asgard. Now, in the world I come from he remained undiscovered for three years before Thor returned home and banished him. However, something has happened that’s different. The Thor you know would tell you that after only a month of ruling Asgard in the King’s place, Loki handed himself over in a spectacular and tragic address to his people. He was thrown into the dungeon once again.

“Now Asgardians, I have come to learn that however noble, show little mercy when their foe is guilty and helpless. But Loki was only days in the dungeon before he vanished. I’m trying to find him,” he explained. “Do you see? I am from the future but I don’t really know what’s happening here. And it’s been a long time since I came to Terra – umm, Earth. I know that there was an Asgardian here who is not Thor because I can feel their echo here still. Asgardians don’t tend to frequent Earth so I’m guessing they were tasked with returning Loki to that dungeon and have hired you because they’ve been unsuccessful. They would see him serve a lifetime sentence even though he gave himself up.

“But that is why I’m here,” he said, taking the seat opposite her on the couch. “Something physical, some person or magic, caused Loki to give himself up. It’s divided our worlds and affected both our Loki’s. Mine can still feel it. It’s out there and we know it’s not harmless. So…is that…sufficient? For now? I really need you in this Tash. Would you tell me you trust me?”

Natasha glanced down at the glass of wine that was still sitting on the table beside her. "Loki is a sociopath."

Hal’s shoulders dropped. "Oh...well yes I understand why you would think that."

"But you make it sound like he is an ally of the Avengers in your world."

"Yes. He's...he's an ally."

"You know that he tried to destroy this world in New York so you understand why I find all this hard to believe. What happened to him in your world that made him help us? It must have been a hell of thing."

Hal could see she was pretending not to believe him. He wanted to kiss her and tell her he knew her too well. "It was a long process," he replied steadily. He held her gaze. "Not one I'm comfortable simplifying if I'm honest."

"Interesting, since your goal is to make me trust you."

"I'm glad you know that that's my goal and it’s not to kill you."

"Loki is a killer. He was willing to end our entire world for power and he didn't care who he murdered in the pro-"

"No... No!" Hal stood suddenly. "This is not your winning argument love. How many parallels would you like me to draw up between the horrors that you and Loki inflicted before the Avengers found you? Do not pretend you are so different because I did not fall in love with you so naively. I know every one of your dirty secrets and every sin and every sacrifice.”

“That’s more like it and God you sound just like him,” she whispered, satisfied his pretence of a kind gentleman had dropped and he looked pleasingly riled up. “You said you weren’t Jötunn-”

“Well I’m not really-” 

“- But after New York Thor told us about the nine realms and about Loki’s ancestry and his markings.”

Hal raised his hand to interrupt her and she stood and straightened so they were nearly eye-to eye. The kid wasn’t so tall. “I know you’re not blue,” she continued, “but neither is he and I know lots of races do have markings like that but I saw the Jötunn ones and I remember,” she pointed at his forehead “that one looks like an alien with a dog cone, so I think you’re not telling me something pretty important.”

Hal blinked and touched his forehead. “A dog cone?”

She shrugged. “I must have said that to you before.” 

“No. You usually tease me about the ones on my back.”

Natasha stared at him, resisting the urge to laugh. This was ridiculous. 

“I know you believe my story.”

“I believe it because it fits with what Thor and the Asgardian told us. It’s got nothing to do with you.” She moved past him. “I want to make a phone call.” Hal nodded and dipped out of the way. She reached for the one on the nearest desk and dialed Steve’s number. Nothing. She did the same with Bruce’s and then the of the Avengers. Hal hung back watching her.

“I’d be surprised if you get through.”

She hung up the phone and faced him. “Alright. Why are you here now? Thor told us when Loki vanished from Asgard, that was over a year ago. So why are you getting involved now? And why did you send the others away? If Loki was on Earth we would know about it, so why are you on Earth at all?” 

Hal nodded. “Well my Stark and Loki tracked the abnormality that caused all this to this time point. I’m not clear on the details why, but we can’t go back to the moment it made Loki give himself up. But Stark thinks whatever the thing is, it’s going to resurface around this time point very soon.

“We don’t know where Loki actually is so we had to spread ourselves out. My Avengers are across the galaxy looking for him like I am. We all went to places he might be hiding. And I’m sure you understand that we can’t allow your Avengers to get hurt by this thing so whichever of us encountered you guys, we had to sort of…ping you away. The complications arising from seeing yourselves in the future notwithstanding. And…oh and I directed everyone away from Asgard because…well it’s best they don’t know we’re here. I don’t want Loki going back to the dungeon. If we can sort this and put him on the right track then Asgard need never be involved.”

Natasha approached him and nodded. “I may not agree with the last part but I do understand. I want to see some your Avengers that I know. You mentioned Stark.”

“Sure. Once Loki is found we can reconvene. But honestly, we won’t stick around. Best to avoid crossing timelines I’m told.”

“So why didn’t send me away?” she asked. “And if possible try and answer that without telling me you love me.”

Hal smiled. “This could be a dangerous mission and you were assigned elsewhere. You made me promise to keep you around - for my protection."

Natasha smiled a little. “And I'm not worried I’ll die and then…she will?”

His smile became a grin. “I think you have a great deal of faith in yourself."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This is my first attempt at fanficition so please be kind :) This is going to be a long story (if you guys like it) and comments welcome.
> 
> Later on some romance for Natasha!, but this will mainly be Loki/Steve. Ratings will change!
> 
> J x


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